RADFORD, Va. – Over the past few years, leaders at Radford University have focused on creating an accessible path through higher education like their tuition promise.
Their recent endeavor for this, though, has been the creation of the Tartan Transfer program.
“We want to be the key public four years for this part of the state, in this region, for the folks who are interested in going to college and not have student loans, and not have to ask their parents for money,” said Dr. Dannette Gomez Beane, vice president for enrollment management and strategic communication for Radford University.
Partnered with eight community colleges in the region she said the process is simple, if a student signs a declaration of intent, they get a Radford University advisor to get them, and keep them on the right track.
“Even if they just started a community college they can actually get assigned a Radford academic advisor in that first semester,” said Beane. “The major benefit is the seamless transfer of credits and maximizing those credits into the Radford curriculum so that students can finish on time.”
She also said this is part of the University’s plan to keep folks in the region.
“We joined the Commonwealth of Virginia in trying to avoid a brain drain from the state and we are doing our part through this Tartan Transfer because we are committed to keeping students local,” Beane said.
I then met with the vice president of New River Community College to see how many students they anticipate utilizing this program
“The students that come here they stay here, so they are looking for a local option,” said Dr. Peter Anderson. “Radford University is our number one transfer partner, so we are just excited to provide an additional avenue for our students. We typically have around over 150 students each year transfer to Radford so we think with this partnership that is going to strengthen that.”
The community colleges included in this are:
- Mountain Empire Community College
- Mountain Gateway Community College
- New River Community College
- Patrick and Henry Community College
- Southwest Virginia Community College
- Virginia Highlands Community College
- Virginia Western Community College
- Wytheville Community College
For more information on this, you can find it here.